No One has Been Allowed in Here for Over 100 years for a Chilling Reason!

People Have Been Forbidden From Entering This Place For 100 Years For A Chilling Reason

When you picture France, you probably think of a lush countryside or the romantic “City of Lights” (Paris). However, France didn’t always seem that way, and during the horrors of World War I, it had a much bleaker landscape.
That’s because, deep within its borders, there lies a 460-square-mile section known as Zone Rouge (“Red Zone”), which has been forbidden from public use for nearly a century. When you see what’s hiding within this dangerous place, you may never look at France the same way again.
In World War I, near the French town of Verdun, 460 square miles of forest became the site of one of the bloodiest battles in recorded history. The Battle of Verdun lasted for 303 days and killed 70,000 soldiers per month.
Today, the area is considered extremely dangerous because of all the unexploded munitions in the ground. Experts say that it would take 300 to 700 years to clean the area, though it may even be impossible, due to the amount of toxins absorbed by the soil.
In 2004, German researchers found that the soil contained 17% arsenic, which is tens of thousands of times higher than typical levels. The government determined that it was necessary to completely relocate everyone living there. Whole towns were evacuated and wiped off the map after being deemed “casualties of war.”
This sign translates to “Here stood the church.” Unfortunately, no person would be able to safety practice their faith on these grounds—though, before the arsenic levels were discovered, unsuspecting residents still made use of the area.
Even though the once-demolished land regrew into a lush forest, it’s still more dangerous than ever. High levels of lead were found in the animals that have been hunted there—and the arsenic levels in the area’s water are 300 times higher than what humans can typically tolerate.
Still, it’s an improvement compared to what it looked like immediately after the fighting ended. Back then, the trees were almost completely wiped out. It’s hard to believe that the forest was able to grow back considering how the war changed the very topography of the land.
There are craters in the ground where the fighting occurred. What was once flat land now wears the marks of an epic battle—almost as though it was molded into an entirely new place. Don’t be fooled by the trees; there’s not much viable life in this soil.
Along with lead, the area’s water contains a good amount of percholate, a chemical used in manufacturing rockets and ammunition. In 2012, the area’s water was banned from consumption. In many parts of the red zone, only 1% of the plant and animal life survives.
For at least 10,000 more years, non-biodegradable lead, zinc, and mercury will continue to contaminate the soil with the remaining shrapnel, and there’s not much that can be done to stop it. In fact, any living creature that attempts to survive there would find themselves suffering a rather unfortunate fate.
In 1946, the French established a special organization called Department du Deminage; it was committed to clearing out as many weapons from the area as possible. The map below shows the zone’s varying risk levels, the red area being the most dangerous.
Those brave enough to clear the area are in constant danger of being hurt or killed by the many unseen dangers still lurking in the ground. Gas shells are the most dangerous if they are detonated, as the toxins they release are absorbed and built up in the body. By the time they are detected, it is often too late.

The surrounding zones are less dangerous and even repopulated. Even in these areas, however, farmers can accidentally strike explosives with their tractors. They narrowly escape death on a regular basis. Even 90 years after World War I, this battle rages on. Close to 900 tons of unexploded ammunition are unearthed each year. They call this constant excavation “the iron harvest.” There are even designated dumping grounds for farmers to leave the ammunition they find to be collected by authorities.

Crops from the area are supposed to be closely monitored, but there is some doubt surrounding whether this is actually being done. Because of the sheer amount of damage to the area, cleaning it all up seems like a fight that can’t be won to many people.
Still, by the start of the 1970s, the Department du Deminage believed that its cleaning efforts were successful. When it thought that the task was complete, it reopened more land and roads to the public. But research reveals just how much of this land is still affected.
Unfortunately, the Department du Deminage didn’t fully consider the leaks and other consequences of detonating so many chemical bombs. By the time that the area was officially restricted in 2012, hundreds of people and animals had died from undetected munitions.
Soon after World War I ended, a rush to convert the area into livestock farms resulted in additional chemical treatment of the soil. The French word la verdunisation actually refers to the chlorinated water treatment in
1911 Paris, and is derived from the Battle of Verdun.
In 2012, the French government officially prohibited the public from entering the site after realizing its condition. Since cleanup efforts at the war’s end were futile—and the French economy was in shambles—the area was a complete disaster that would prove to be too challenging for decades to come.
To this day, many people doubt that the French government and European Union are doing enough to keep the area safe, which scientists say must be continuously monitored. Sadly, most citizens claim this task is simply not done.
Those living in the surrounding areas often boast personal collections of artifacts from the war, with some even opening their own small museums or adding their findings to local tourist destinations. Travelers the world over consider Verdun a living relic of history.
Pozières is another town that was completely destroyed by the fighting, though it’s been rebuilt. A restaurant and café called Le Tommy in Pozières actually repurposed a trench in its rear garden. The trench attracts tourists and is dedicated to the sacrifices of the Allied Forces.
Still, families in the surrounding areas obviously can’t make use of the quarantined zones, so they have to make do with what they can. Everywhere they look, there are reminders of the devastation that once occurred where they’re living.
Still, some towns in the area were never rebuilt. Instead, they are considered “ghost villages” and are used as memorials that are dedicated to those who “died for France.” Even some of these are not accessible to the public because the land is so toxic.
Joseph Hupy, a geography professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire who specializes in military geography, told National Geographic, “The worthd ‘recover’ is not the right word. [The land] got set off on a different trajectory of development.”
Hupy says that, although the battle transformed the area, the current landscape is largely a result of human activity after the war. Recovery, in this case, caused more harm than good—especially since the government’s efforts to clean up have proven futile.
Back in its day, Verdun itself had over 40 forts that kept French borders safe for centuries. The Germans targeted the area during the war because they knew that the French were sentimental about the land—and would dedicated all their resources to protect it.
German General Erich von Falkenhayn wrote to Kaiser Wilhelm II to say that they would only win by draining the French soldiers’ will to fight. And what better way to accomplish that than by targeting a beloved, beautiful area of their country?
Verdun was also smack-dab in the middle of the Western Front, and the Germans were able to catch the French by surprise there. General Falkenhayn’s men spent seven weeks before the attack building infrastructure like railways and heavy bunkers to house troops.
Due to the huge bombardments they faced, French soldiers relied on just one road to supply them at Verdun. It was later dubbed “La Voie Sacrée,” or “The Sacred Road,” because of its importance to the French during the war effort.
Recent estimates suggest that 976,000 total deaths resulted from the Battle of Verdun, and 1,250,000 people were injured, including civilians and those who have interacted with the land since the battle took place. It is thought that 70% of deaths during the battle were caused by artillery.
After 10 months of fighting, a total of nine towns in the region were destroyed. So many of the dead were unidentifiable, and 130,000 unknown people, both German and French, were laid to rest at a monument called Douaumont Ossuary.
War doesn’t come and go quietly. All we can do is remember what happened, learn from our mistakes, and try to clean up the mess that we made. Still, some affected areas—like the land surrounding Verdun—will remain dangerous for generations to come.

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